Samantha Cristoforetti

Personal data

Born in Milan, Italy, on 26 April 1977 Samantha Cristoforetti is an avid reader with a passion for science and technology, but an equal interest in humanities. She enjoys learning foreign languages and her current challenge is Chinese. Occasionally she finds the time to hike, scuba dive or practice yoga.

Education

Samantha completed her secondary education at the Liceo Scientifico in Trento, Italy, in 1996 after having spent a year as an exchange student in the United States.

In 2001, she graduated from the Technische Universität Munich, Germany, with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with specialisations in aerospace propulsion and lightweight structures. As part of her studies, she spent four months at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France, working on an experimental project in aerodynamics. She wrote her master’s thesis in solid rocket propellants during a 10-month research stay at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technologies in Moscow, Russia.

As part of her training at the Italian Air Force Academy, she also completed a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, in 2005.

Experience

In 2001, Samantha joined the Italian Air Force. She was admitted to the Air Force Academy as an officer candidate and served as class leader for four years. Following her graduation in 2005, she attended the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base in the United States, where she earned her fighter pilot wings in 2006. Upon her return to Italy she was assigned to fly the AM-X ground attack fighter at the 51st Bomber Wing in Istrana.

Samantha was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. She joined ESA in September 2009 and completed her basic astronaut training in November 2010. She was then assigned to the role of ESA reserve astronaut, which allowed her to earn her initial qualifications in EVA and robotics, as well as the certification as flight engineer of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. In March 2012 she was assigned to fly as flight engineer on the Soyuz TMA-15M, as part of the crew of Expedition 42/43 on the International Space Station.

On 23 November, 2014 Samantha was launched from the cosmodrome of Baikonur in Kazakhstan. She returned to Earth on 11 June, 2015 after spending 200 days in space, currently the longest spaceflight of a European. The mission, which was given the name Futura, was the second long-duration flight opportunity for the Italian Space Agency, the eighth for an ESA astronaut.

After completing her post-flight tasks, while waiting for assignment to a second spaceflight, Samantha has been given technical and management duties at the European Astronaut Centre, which include serving on technical evaluation boards for exploration-related projects. For several years she led the Spaceship EAC initiative, a student-centred team working on the technological challenges of future missions to the Moon. She is now crew representative for ESA in the Lunar Orbital Platform – Gateway project.

Samantha is also part of a working group tasked with working with Chinese counterparts to define and implement cooperation in the field of astronaut operations. In 2017, together with fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, she participated in a sea survival exercise organised by the Astronaut Center of China in the Yellow Sea. This was the first joint training of Chinese and non-Chinese astronauts in China.

In July 2015 Samantha was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian president.

Related articles

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti back on Earth11 June 2015
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov landed safely today in the Kazakh steppe after a three-hour ride in their Soyuz spacecraft. They left the International Space Station at 10:20 GMT...

Space Station remodelling28 May 2015
The International Space Station’s Permanent Multipurpose Module was detached and moved by the main robotic arm to another place on the orbiting laboratory yesterday.

Samantha’s longer stay on Space Station12 May 2015
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s mission on the International Space Station has been extended until the beginning of June. It was planned to end this week with a return to Earth together with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and cosmonaut Anton Shkapl...

Mission X comes to a close with a call from space25 March 2015
On the very same day that Mission X’s mascot Astro Charlie reached the moon, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti reached out to children from the International Space Station (ISS), her outpost in space. Hundreds of students aged 8 to 12 gathere...

Testing astronauts’ lungs in Space Station airlock 09 March 2015
Air was pumped out of the International Space Station’s air lock for the first time in the name of science last week. Inside the cylindrical Quest airlock, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA’s Terry Virts monitored their breathing for resea...

Fresh supplies and experiments for Samantha13 January 2015
Yesterday, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore captured the Dragon spacecraft with its supplies and new experiments for the six astronauts living 400 km above our planet.

Samantha’s mission has a name: Futura09 December 2013
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s mission to the International Space Station will be called Futura. The name for the joint mission with Italy’s ASI space agency, set for launch next November, was chosen after a call for ideas in her home country.